Wandering Eyes

Perhaps the different running styles of Maximus Mischief and Mihos will clash somewhere in the stretch of the $350,000 Fasig-Tipton Holy Bull Stakes (G2) Feb. 2 at Gulfstream, a 1 1/16-mile race that has attracted 10 3-year-olds. View the full article

Perhaps the different running styles of Maximus Mischief and Mihos will clash somewhere in the stretch of the $350,000 Fasig-Tipton Holy Bull Stakes (G2) Feb. 2 at Gulfstream, a 1 1/16-mile race that has attracted 10 3-year-olds. View the full article

Early scratching February 1 View the full article

Mister Yeoh takes on the Masters in Fortune Bowl View the full article

Tougher task for Absolvido this Sunday View the full article

Fashion Faux Pax, a gate-to-wire winner of Tampa Bay Downs' Sandpiper Stakes, appears ready to step up to graded company in the Feb. 2 Forward Gal Stakes (G3). Gulfstream Park's seven-furlong race is a prep for the March 2 Davona Dale (G2) at a mile. View the full article

Fashion Faux Pax, a wire-to-wire winner of Tampa Bay Downs' Sandpiper Stakes, appears ready to step up to grade 3 company in the Feb. 2 Forward Gal Stakes. Gulfstream Park's seven-furlong race is a prep for the March 2 Davona Dale (G2) at a mile. View the full article

With impressive Lecomte Stakes (G3) winner War of Will already in their string, owner Gary Barber and trainer Mark Casse are on a fact-finding mission with Our Braintrust in the $250,000 Withers Stakes (G3) Feb. 2 at Aqueduct Racetrack. View the full article

The latest bill in a decades-long string of legislative efforts to legalize pari-mutuel horse wagering in Georgia was filed on Wednesday. In a change of tactics from similar bills that failed in recent years, this year’s version does not tie the sport to any racino/casino gaming and focuses strictly on creating a mixed-use Thoroughbred venue that would host boutique seasonal meets and other non-racing events. According to the Atlanta Business Chronicle, which first broke the story, the Rural Georgia Jobs and Growth Act filed by Republican Senator Brandon Beach pitches horse racing as “an economic development boon for struggling rural communities, which could see the creation of a new industry surrounding the raising of racehorses.” “Each racehorse can have a ripple effect of creating more than 20 jobs,” Beach told the ABC. “This legislation provides my colleagues with a clear vision of the benefits of horse racing facilities, including new revenue streams to keep up with increasing demand for education funding.” Beach told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution earlier this week that, “We need to be in the equine industry. There’s more to it than racing. There’s horse farms and hay farms and breeding and auctions.” The stumbling block to getting parimutuel laws enacted in Georgia–as it has been for the past 30 years–has nothing to do with a lack of enthusiasm for horses. The difficulty has always been rounding up enough elected officials who are willing to support expanded gambling in a state where moral objections to it run high and religious conservatism carries considerable clout. Dean Reeves, president of the Georgia Horse Racing Coalition, told the ABC that his group is committed to building “world-class facilities that would benefit the state and serve as an asset to local communities. Our industry wants to be a part of a solution that gives rural Georgia an economic boost while also providing new revenues for the entire state,” he said. The ABC reported that legalizing parimutuel betting in Georgia requires a constitutional amendment that would be subject to a statewide referendum. View the full article

The two grass stakes scheduled for Feb. 2-3 at Santa Anita Park will be moved to Feb. 9 because of heavy rain storms expected to hit Southern California during the week and through the weekend. View the full article

Shergar’s former work rider Cliff Lines ended a 70-year career in racing with a winner, as Catapult (GB) (Equiano {Fr}) made every yard of the running in the sunracing.co.uk Maiden H. at Lingfield. Lines was regarded as one of the best work riders in the business and was employed by Sir Michael Stoute and Sir Noel Murless, among others. With his 84th birthday next month, Lines–who started out as an apprentice in 1949–has decided now is the time to retire and with Hollie Doyle in the saddle the well-backed 4-1 joint-favourite defied a wide draw to make all. “After I saw the way he jumped I was confident he’d win,” Lines told Sky Sports Racing. “Hollie gave him a great ride, it’s her first winner for me. I was reasonably confident coming here, we just thought the draw was bad, but it turned out good. It’s a great ending, terrific.” View the full article

While Saturday’s GI Pegasus World Cup capped the brilliant careers of City of Light (Quality Road) and recently crowned champion Accelerate (Lookin At Lucky), a runaway winner on the undercard could potentially help fill some of that void in the sprint division in 2019. The extremely talented World of Trouble (Kantharos), a painful second as the 2-1 choice with an off-the-charts 118 Beyer Speed Figure in the GI Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Churchill Downs last fall, made it two straight dominating scores over sloppy tracks with a facile win in the rained-off Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint. The ball is in owner Michael Dubb’s court to map out a campaign for the versatile 4-year-old, trainer Jason Servis revealed in the Gulfstream Park winner’s circle this past weekend. “This is a classic case of finger pointing, because I’m leaving everything to him,” Dubb said with a laugh. Races like the seven-furlong GI Carter H. at Aqueduct Apr. 6 and the GII Shakertown S. going 5 1/2 furlongs on the Keeneland grass the same day are on the table, per Dubb, who campaigns the bay in partnership with Sol Kumin’s Madaket Stables and Michael Caruso’s Bethlehem Stables. “It’s a great problem to have,” Dubb said. “If we elect to stay on dirt, we probably point for the Carter next. If we elect to stay on grass, we probably go to Keeneland. It’s very hard for me to quantify which surface he’s better on. Maybe he’s a tad better on grass, but there’s so much more money in dirt racing that it’s pause for cause. Obviously, he’s very adept at both surfaces.” World of Trouble’s name also appeared on the nominations released earlier this week for the $2.5-million G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen and $2-million G1 Al Quoz Sprint on grass. Any chance he chases the money and instead makes the trip to the desert Mar. 30? “We’ll have discussions about it,” Dubb said. “I’m a racing guy and I’m very concerned. Some horses go to Dubai, handle it great and come back and continue racing. But it could also knock them out for months. I really want to try to be able to enjoy this horse in the spring and summer with my partners. While the financial reward up front appears great, it doesn’t come without a degree of risk.” World of Trouble–produced by the 0-for-3 Valid Expectations mare Meets Expectations and just a $10,000 RNA as an OBSAUG yearling–was purchased privately by Dubb from his breeder Darsan Inc. after airing by 14 lengths first out as a 2-year-old in a $25,000 seller at Gulfstream in August 2017. He’s gone favored in nine of 10 career starts and has earned triple-digit Beyers in his last four attempts. “The horse was presented to me for what seemed like a lot of money at the time by Kim Valerio,” Dubb said. “I watched the race about 20 times and decided to pull the trigger. In this case, it worked out. I’ve gotten friendly with the breeder and I’m thrilled for him. He was able to sell the full-brother for $285,000 at Keeneland September and he still has the mare. This is really win-win for everybody because and we’ve got a special horse, too.” View the full article

Steve Asmussen saddles his second runner at this year’s carnival with US MGSW Switzerland (Speightstown) in the $250,000 G3 Al Shindagha Sprint at Meydan on Thursday. The Sheikh Rashid bin Humaid Al Nuaimi colourbearer was last seen running third in an allowance at the Fair Grounds in November over six furlongs, and both of his graded victories have come at that trip. “It’s a good spot for him,” Asmussen said. “I hope he handles the circumstances of the race and runs well. I’m very pleased with how he shipped over there and Carlos [Rosas, assistant and exercise rider] thought he worked great over the racetrack.” 2018 Al Shindagha winner My Catch (Ire) (Camacho {GB}) is aiming for consecutive wins, and he last finished third in the Jan. 3 G3 Dubawi S. over this trip behind one behind stablemate Drafted (Field Commission) for trainer Doug Watson. Argentinean MGSW Tato Key (Arg) (Key Deputy) makes his first appearance at Meydan in the Al Shindagha. Also on Thursday is the $250,000 Listed UAE 1000 Guineas over a mile. Favoured is owner/trainer Ismail Mohammed’s Al Hayette (Union Rags), who is the lone dual winner in the full field of 15. Winless in three starts in England over turf and all-weather, the filly got off the mark second out at Meydan by four lengths testing the 1600-metre distance for the first time on Dec. 20. She defeated several of Thursday’s rivals in a 1400-metre 1000 Guineas Trial score over this strip on Jan. 3, but she must overcome the widest gate. “She’s improving every race,” Mohammed said. “I wasn’t worried about the short break between [her last race and previous effort], because the plan was always that race, then the Trial and then the Guineas before the Oaks. We gave her some freshening since and she has had four weeks to this race.” Godolphin sends out a quartet to oppose, with the honour of the blue cap going to Saeed bin Suroor’s Dubai Beauty (Ire) (Frankel {GB}). A debut winner at Newmarket in August, the bay looks to get back on track after an unplaced run behind Al Hayette in the 1000 Guineas Trial. Charlie Appleby’s Divine Image (Scat Daddy) is making her first start since a novice win at Chelmsford on Dec. 13. Fifteen horses also contest the 1400-metre Meydan Classic Trial. G3 Prix Eclipse victor Sporting Chance (GB) (Kodiac {GB}) breaks from gate two for trainer Simon Crisford. He was 12th in a 1400-metre Meydan conditions affair on Jan. 10. Crisford also sends out Lady O’Reilly’s three-for-four Trolius (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}), who was third in the same race. Joining him is the once-raced Jan. 11 Jebel Ali winner Golden Jaguar (Animal Kingdom) making his turf debut, representing the Phoenix Ladies Syndicate and trainer Ahmad bin Harmash, the same connections as undefeated G3 2000 Guineas hope Walking Thunder (Violence). View the full article

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 7th-GP, $51K, Alw/Opt. Clm., 3yo, f, 1m, post time: 3:08 p.m. ET Whisper Hill Farm homebred GRACEFUL PRINCESS (Tapit), the daughter of 2011 Horse of the Year and champion older female Havre de Grace (Saint Liam), makes her much-anticipated sophomore debut and will look to use this as a springboard to bigger and better over the coming months. The bay filly made a favorable impression in her lone visit to the races last season, setting a comfortable pace and reporting home the convincing 1 3/4-length winner of a Saratoga maiden on the penultimate day of racing Sept. 2. Graceful Princess is one of two winners from treble Grade I winner Havre de Grace, who was purchased by Mandy Pope for $10 million at Fasig-Tipton November in 2012. Third dam Toll Fee (Topsider), a three-time graded winner, was a half-sister to champion Plugged Nickle and bred GSP The Bink (Seeking the Gold), dam of MGISW Riskaverse (Dynaformer) and GSW Cozzy Corner (Cozzene). Graceful Princess is the 2-1 second choice on the morning line to Queen of Beas (Flatter), who Beyered 92 in graduating over seven furlongs Jan. 6. TJCIS PPs KINGLY STRETCHES OUT AT SANTA ANITA 7th-SA, $57K, Alw/Opt. Clm., 3yo, 1m, post time: 6:43 p.m. ET KINGLY (Tapit) was sent off the 41-10 second choice to 3-5 Stretford End (Will Take Charge) in his six-furlong debut at Del Mar Dec. 1 and looked in deep water at the head of the lane before kicking back gamely at the fence en route to a 3/4-length success over the heavy chalk. He’ll try a route of ground for the first time Thursday, but should handle it with ease, as he is a full-brother to Mohaymen, a three-time graded winner going long; and a ga to champion and GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies winner New Year’s Day (Street Cry {Ire}). His dam, the West Point-owned Justwhistledixie (Dixie Union), won the 2009 GII Bonnie Miss S. and GII Davona Dale S. ahead of a runner-up effort in that year’s GI Acorn S. This salty heat also features Extra Hope (Shanghai Bobby), a latest third in the GI Los Alamitos Futurity; Gray Magician (Graydar), fourth in the GIII Sham S.; and Big Scott Daddy (Scat Daddy), who belied odds of 8-1 to break his maiden by a half-length Dec. 26. TJCIS PPs View the full article

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA), FOX Sports and The Stronach Group today announced the return of FOX Sports Saturday At The Races. View the full article

FOX Sports’s “Saturday At The Races,” the live racing broadcast launched in 2018, returns this Saturday, Feb. 2, The New York Racing Association, FOX Sports and The Stronach Group announced Wednesday. Airing on FS2 and produced by NYRA, the telecast will be a 2 1/2-hour long show offering live coverage of the GIII Withers S. from Aqueduct, the GII Holy Bull S. from Gulfstream and the GIII Robert B. Lewis S. from Santa Anita. This is the first of 12 editions of Saturday At The Races, focused on the Triple Crown prep season, running through Apr. 20. The full schedule can be viewed here. “FOX Sports Saturday At The Races kicks off year one of our expanded coverage of the very best in horse racing,” said Michael Mulvihill, FOX Sports Executive Vice President, Research, League Operations & Strategy. “The races we are showcasing this Spring have produced five of the last six Kentucky Derby champions, including the immortal American Pharoah. As a horseplayer, you simply can’t be prepared for the Triple Crown without seeing these races. We are very excited to present these key stops on the road to the Triple Crown.” View the full article

The bitter chill blowing across much of the country this week has forced a number of tracks to cancel racing cards, headlined by The New York Racing Association’s announcement that Aqueduct will not run its scheduled Thursday card. In addition, training at both Belmont and Aqueduct and the Belmont Café simulcasting center will be closed Thursday. Charles Town, which had already canceled Wednesday’s races, is also postponing Thursday’s card, as is Laurel Park. Penn National previously announced the cancellation of its live racing from Wednesday through Saturday. View the full article

The New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association (NYTHA) is sponsoring a stall at the New Vocations Racehorse Adoption Program’s Lexington facility named in honor of the late Rick Violette, Jr. An accomplished trainer and former president of NYTHA, Violette was a steadfast supporter of New York’s horsemen and backstretch workers. He also believed passionately in aftercare for retiring Thoroughbred racehorses, creating the TAKE2 Second Career Thoroughbred Program and NYTHA’s TAKE THE LEAD Thoroughbred Retirement Program, and serving as founding Board member of the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA). “We are deeply thankful to NYTHA for naming a stall at our Mereworth Farm location in honor of Rick,” said Anna Ford, New Vocations Thoroughbred Program Director. “Rick was an avid supporter of Thoroughbred aftercare and he became a wonderful friend as well as advocate for our program; he was always excited to hear how we were growing and expanding. I know he would be extremely pleased with this generous tribute from NYTHA–hundreds of retiring racehorses will be housed in this stall over the coming years as they begin transitional training for second careers. I know in my heart he would be profoundly happy to know the impact of his legacy.” View the full article

A New York state panel with jurisdiction over the New York Racing Association is praising the not-for-profit corporation for the way it handled the recent controversy that led to the resignation of Chris Kay as NYRA president. View the full article

Every breeder will recognize the parallel. You stand in the icy water and patiently dip the sieve again, hope never failing no matter how often that momentary glint turns out to be just another worthless piece of grit. Because you know that somewhere upriver, beneath the snowy uplands, lies a seam of gold. And it’s just the same with Thoroughbreds: pan enough tributaries of the gene pool, someday you’ll trap that stray nugget. So if Charles E. “Chuck” Fipke has his own way of going about trying to make a stallion–his stable almost exclusively comprises not only homebreds, but homebreds by homebred sires–it’s not hard to see why. The only reason he can afford to do it, after all, is because he saw the world in a different way from every other geology graduate. They all knew there were no diamonds in Canada, until Fipke demonstrated that they were wrong. In much the same way, very few Thoroughbred breeders would have tried the formula that has continued to produce a series of elite Fipke performers, the latest being Seeking The Soul (Perfect Soul)–runner-up in the $9-million GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream last Saturday, and now on his way to the G1 Dubai World Cup. Fipke is every bit as singular a character as he is individual a thinker: squat and pugnacious in aspect, freewheeling and buzzy in conversation. He’s telling you about his latest hit, a massive silver deposit in the Yukon. “And I’m really excited about it,” he says. “Because you know, hey, I’ve got this horrible, horrible addiction.” Really Chuck? This is quick: we’ve only just met. “I’m just horribly addicted. I wish I was an alcoholic, hey, or a heroin addict. It’d be a way more economical.” He’s on a roll now. (We’ll quit including the “hey” from this point; but you should know that the staccato exclamation continues as a kind of bass rhythm to his freestyle riffs of thought.) “I’ve tried to find psychiatrists and therapists that could help me, but there is none. I looked in the yellow pages. I asked around Keeneland and they said, ‘We had any of them? We’d run them out of town. Bad for business!’ Yeah, it’s horrible. There’s only been one person, lives nearby, Russ Bennett, he’s been a leading breeder. He’s finally told me the one way I can get rid of my horse addiction.” And how’s that, Chuck? “Death.” That’s awkward. “Yeah. That is. The problem was, I was spending quite a bit of money. Around $14 million a year. It was really eating up my savings. And then just in the nick of time I found this new one [mine]. I’ll be able to last longer now.” Using the old prospecting methods, most of Fipke’s wealth would almost literally have slipped through the net. Because the “indicator” particles from those icy rivers are so small, so fine, that you can barely see them; too fine to settle in water, they were panned away by the old timers. His team reduces 12- or 15-kilo gravel deposits to a concentrate of five to ten grams, using a variety of separating techniques such as magnetism or conductivity. And within these filtrates, they can find a spectrum of flaked mineral fingerprints–for everything from diamonds to base metals–measuring just four or five microns. It’s not even that expensive. They needed only 2,500 samples to read 50,000 km2 of the Yukon, ultimately leading them to a claim of 20km by 25km. They drilled down, found the gold, and then stumbled over silver-lead-zinc deposits surpassing the three richest in the world: Broken Hill and Mount Isa in Australia, and Sullivan in British Columbia. To give you a sense of the find’s historic stature, those respectively date to 1883, 1923 and 1909. And now there’s more. “Just recently we think we have another,” Fipke says. “I rarely say this, but it’s so rich that it just went off scale. The interesting thing is, Sullivan, Mount Isa and Broken Hill, they’re all in protozoic rocks, about 1.3 billion years old, and they’re all in marine clastic sediment. And so is ours, it’s in the same geologic environment.” The same patented methodology had previously led Fipke to four gold mines in Nevada; and, famously, to the diamonds that were not supposed to be in Canada, tracing them back through glacial “tills” (sediment pushed ahead of the ice) to the south. It’s a staggering outcome from the curiosity of a kid raised in modest circumstances on the outskirts of Edmonton, Alberta, with a passion for the outdoor life. In the meantime he has worn out his knees–now mostly titanium–but never his enthusiasm, through all those epic meanderings in desolate, remote regions, with little or no company. “I love it out in the wild, it’s so peaceful: the lakes and the rivers and the streams, and going out in the bush,” he says. “You see all kinds of animals. Minx and otters. Grizzly bears. Yeah, grizzlies. You never back away, because they think you’re prey, they go after you. It’s like playing poker. You’ve got to bluff them a bit. “I worked two years in New Guinea with head-hunters everywhere. They thought you were like a god coming down from the sky with a helicopter. One time the helicopter took off, but then came back. I thought, ‘What the heck’s this guy doing? I haven’t had enough time to collect my sample.’ So I thought I’d teach him a lesson, take that much longer. He’d go off and he’d come back, put the skid up against me, and I ignored him and just did my job. Then when we took off, a whole bunch of arrows came at us. And what had happened was, he’d seen all these warriors coming up the drainage with bows and arrows, so he kept buzzing them and trying to get me.” There were personal prices to be paid. As a young, first-time father, he spent four months away in the Yukon. As his family grew, so did his commitments; it proved too much, and Fipke ultimately made the papers with Canada’s most expensive divorce. But even in working six and a half days a week, there was still Sunday afternoon. And on one such, fatefully, he was taking the kids along a creek on their Shetlands and Welsh ponies. “And we went through this farm, Mission Creek, and they had a whole bunch of yearlings in the barn, a yearling in each stall,” he recalls. “So we went with all the little horses through the barn, and going through I saw this filly. I just stopped. She just took the breath out of me. I went up and down, and I came right back to her. I just fell in love.” He knew practically nothing about Thoroughbreds, but phoned the stable manager of neighbors Russ and Lois Bennett. She told him the filly he had picked out was by Irish Ruler, and just about the pick of an upcoming sale. Fipke, hooked, was reeled in: he bought the filly. On her debut, she tore clear but stopped dead in the last sixteenth. That was as good as it got: she deteriorated, turned out to have a bone chip. Suddenly Fipke found he was a breeder. He mated his young mare with various Kentucky stallions, but her best foal was bred on his doorstep with the Bennetts’ own stallion, Travelling Victor, Canada’s Horse of the Year in 1983. “Travelling Spirit, he was called, and he was the leading 2-year-old in British Columbia,” Fipke explains. “So I got a taste of it. I think that’s how I got addicted. And yeah, it is like minerals, we’ve developed our own methods.” On the face of it, a similarly maverick approach to his hobby would seem doomed to invert the yield he has achieved in his business. Because trying to breed your own stallions is–well, it’s worse than standing in the river with one of those old pans. “Well, why I do this is, I find it more challenging,” he says with a shrug. “Going to the sales and picking out a great horse, I’ve done that. Doesn’t always work [either] and it’s just not as challenging as actually breeding the mare yourself and covering her with your own stallion. It’s far more challenging, the way I do it. That’s probably why I do it. I don’t want to take the easy way out, you know? But it’s also the only way I could ever even think of breaking even, to have a good stallion.” And, albeit it evidently helps if you can keep turning up ore deposits, Seeking The Soul’s performance on Saturday confirms his eligibility–he is already a Grade I winner and had also chased home City Of Light (Quality Road) in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile–to emulate several other homebreds already at stud. Already Fipke has four of those standing at Darby Dan–Perfect Soul (Sadler’s Wells), Tale Of Ekati (Tale Of The Cat), Tale of Verve (Tale of Ekati) and now Bee Jersey (Jersey Town)–plus others in California, Canada and on his own farm in Kentucky. Bee Jersey looks a particularly interesting prospect, having won the stallion-making GI Met Mile in a lightning time, as he’s from one of the great families in the Stud Book (fourth dam is Lassie Dear). Being from the first crop of a horse raced and retired by Fipke, he’s a characteristic model. Fipke has a heroically stubborn fidelity to a project most would view as a virtual guarantee of expensive failure. Even the most expensive broodmares will be given a chance with his own stallions, albeit they stand on the lower rungs of the commercial market. His $1.7 million purchase Title Seeker (Monarchos), for instance, was bred to Perfect Soul–as, subsequently, was the Seeking The Gold filly she was carrying at the time of her acquisition. Named Seeking The Title, she was a graded stakes winner and the result of her mating with Perfect Soul was none other than Seeking The Soul. Then there was the $600,000 mare Bourbon Belle (Storm Boot), whose resume would have qualified her for any stallion in Kentucky. Instead Fipke sent her to Not Impossible (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells), an unraced brother to Perfect Soul whose stud career was almost entirely his own doing. The clue is in the name he had given the horse. And the result of the mating was Not Bourbon, who in 2008 won the premier Canadian Classic, the Queen’s Plate. It is not hard to share his belief in Bee Jersey. “Yes, the A.P. Indy line–and he had a beautiful running style,” Fipke says with enthuiasm. “He’d go right to the lead and had enough oomph to just barrel on. And if you go out and look at him, he’s absolutely gorgeous, just so perfectly balanced. Just ask John Phillips, he said to me: ‘I can’t believe how beautiful that horse is.'” Jersey Town (Speightstown) himself has now moved to Daehling Ranch, California; and the hardy Canadian Classic winner Danish Dynaformer (Dynaformer) is starting out on home soil at Colebrook Farms in Ontario, with a fee of Can$2,500. “I’m hoping to get a Storm Cat or something to try and make my operation break even!” exclaims Fipke. “It’s tough, because I don’t know how to find a stallion–and actually I don’t think anybody else can. Viceregal was a Canadian Horse of the Year; Vice Regent only won $70,000. And they’re full brothers. Vice Regent became a fantastic stallion, and Viceregal was a dud. So it’s really, really tough. I don’t think anybody really knows. The only thing you can do is try them.” That said, he has firm tenets: a strong believer, for instance, in the kind of “kin breeding” exemplified by the great mare Coup De Folie (Halo), whose grand-dams were both out of Almahmoud. He calculates distance aptitudes, viewing them more or less as gospel, and likes elite performers multiplied across a mare’s family. And he counts WTC president Sid Fernando as an invaluable adviser. “But there’s only one rule I really, really go on; that I never, ever contradict,” Fipke stresses. “And that’s the one that says rules were made to be broken.” And that, of course, is exactly why he is in a position to do it in the first place. He casts his mind back to his earliest days as a prospector. “One time, I had this big hike, it was about 40 miles and I had to collect samples,” he reflects. “Between myself and where I had to go, there was this big mountain in the way. And I could’ve went around the mountain. But I decided to climb it. I made it up to the top of this mountain and I felt really good. And I looked over there, and there was a mountain that was a little higher. And over there, another one that was a little higher again. “What happens is, I set these goals that seem impossible, and try and reach them. Just for the fun of it. People thought there were no diamonds in Canada, only in Africa and Russia. It was like impossible. We worked at it, and did it. Same with horses. It’s impossible to get another Storm Cat. So that’s what I’m trying to do.” View the full article

A New York state panel with jurisdiction over the New York Racing Association tonight is praising the not-for-profit corporation for the way it handled the recent controversy that led to the resignation of Chris Kay as NYRA president. View the full article

The arrest of Australia’s leading trainer Darren Weir by detectives from the Sports Integrity Intelligence Unit has sent shockwaves through the entire industry. Weir, 48, along with two other men, one aged 38 from Yangery and the other aged 26 from Warrnambool, were arrested by Victoria Police on Wednesday morning after a series of stable raids, which included the Ballarat and Warrnambool properties of the Melbourne Cup winning trainer. According to a Victoria Police statement, the men were questioned over sporting integrity matters including ‘obtaining financial advantage by deception, engaging in conduct that corrupts or would corrupt a betting outcome of an event or event contingency, use of corrupt conduct information for betting purposes, and attempt to commit indictable offence namely obtain financial advantage by deception’. “Today’s warrants shows that Victoria Police will investigate allegations of corruption in sport and racing and that we do that in partnership with Racing Victoria,” assistant commissioner Neil Paterson said. Police executed warrants at the two properties around 6 a.m. and seized a number of items, among which were a firearm and conducted energy devices. Police later revealed that there were four electrical devices recovered, which were referred to as ‘jiggers’. “We have initially located a number of items which have been seized, including what we believe is an unregistered firearm, three conductive energy devices, commonly called tasers or in the racing industry, jiggers and at another property we also seized a fourth conductive energy device and a small quantity of what we believe to be cocaine,” Assistant Commissioner Paterson said. The investigation continues and Assistant Commissioner Paterson described it as complex. “We are looking at a number of matters. The investigation is ongoing and I don’t want to prejudice that investigation with further comment” he said. No charges have been laid, and Weir left the Ballarat West police station around 2 p.m. on Wednesday. RV Integrity Involved in Raid Racing Victoria released a statement confirming its Integrity department had been conducting an investigation into Weir’s training operation for some time. “During the course of our investigation we sought the support of Victoria Police’s Sporting Integrity Intelligence Unit on the matter, instigating their investigation,” Racing Victoria executive general manager Integrity, Jamie Stier, said. “The Sporting Integrity Intelligence Unit this morning executed warrants at properties in Warrnambool and Ballarat where they arrested three licensed persons for questioning. “Members of the Racing Victoria Integrity Services team attended licensed stables to assist Victoria Police and to investigate potential offences against the Rules of Racing. Racing Victoria is committed to maintaining the highest integrity standards in our sport and, where appropriate, we will continue to work with Victoria Police on those investigations.” Police later confirmed it became involved in the investigation as early as last August. A Wealth of Success Weir has been phenomenally successful, training 36 Group 1 winners, including most famously, Prince of Penzance (NZ) (Pentire {GB}) in the 2015 G1 Melbourne Cup. He has rewritten Australian records, training an extraordinary 491 winners in 2017/18, breaking Australian and Commonwealth records in the process. His stable has become one of Australia’s biggest, with 100s of horses spread across his three properties at Miner’s Rest near Ballarat, Warrnambool and his new property at Maldon. He emerged from a humble background as a kid from Berriwillock in northern Victoria who initially set up a small stable at Stawell, while he also worked as a farrier. She’s Archie (Aus) (Archway {Ire}) first launched him into the public eye when she won the 2002 G1 South Australian Oaks. Eighteen months later, she went within 1 1/2 lengths of winning a G1 Melbourne Cup, beaten only by the triple Cup winner Makybe Diva (GB) (Desert King {Ire}). A dominant trainer on country circuits in Victoria, the move to Ballarat helped spark Weir’s career, and in 2013 he collected his second Group 1 with the mare Platelet (Aus) (Strategic {Aus}) in the Robert Sangster S. Since then, he has gone from strength to strength. He built from 183 winners in 2012/13, to 253 in 2013/14, 298 in 2014/15, 347 in 2015/16, 449 in 2016/17 and 491 last season. Prior to Wednesday’s raids he had 265 winners in the first six months of this season, on track to break the 500 mark. Last spring carnival in Melbourne he won the G1 Victoria Derby, the G1 Manikato S. the G1 Toorak H., the G1 Thousand Guineas and the G1 Memsie S. He has been permitted to continue to train by Racing Victoria stewards. (This article originally appeared in the TDN AusNZ of Jan. 31, 2019.) View the full article

Newmarket, UK–It seems unlikely that there will be a repeat of last year’s excitement at the Tattersalls February Sale when Willie John (GB) (Dansili {GB}) smashed the European record for a colt in training sold at auction. The winter gathering in Newmarket, which lay under a light carpet of snow on the eve of the event on Wednesday, is something of a mixed bag for the two-day sale. The majority going through the ring are colts and fillies both in and out of training, but some useful broodmares as well as 2-year-olds and yearlings are included. Willie John’s contribution of 1,900,000gns by moving to Roger Varian’s stable helped the sale’s turnover to reach 8,037,150gns last year, an improvement for the fourth year in a row despite impressive gains in 2017. The average of 26,880gns was also a record. The first event of the year in Park Paddocks might be one of the lowest-key, but could yet give some pointers to the financial climate ahead. Godolphin has already made a strong early impression to 2019 at the Dubai World Cup Carnival and several of the members set to leave the team could add a little lustre. Its consignment now numbers 36, predominately consisting of those who have raced, and much the best-known name is that of Atty Persse (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) (lot 375). He had looked a Classic prospect after an impressive juvenile success and struck for trainer Roger Charlton in the King George V H. at Royal Ascot in 2017 before his fortunes dwindled. Ambassadorial (Elusive Quality) (lot 315) had a similarly attractive profile for Michael Halford after taking the Listed Star Appeal S. at Dundalk, but he too has failed to build on that promise. In terms of finding a younger horse with potential close to that of Willie John, the credentials of Patrick Sarsfield (Fr) (Australia {GB}) (lot 188) are sure to be scrutinised. He was trained in Ireland by Eddie Lynam last term and was unlucky to run into G2 Champions Juvenile S. scorer Madhmoon (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}) and Group 1 runner-up Sydney Opera House (GB) (Australia {GB}) on his only two starts. John Gosden is responsible for several of the more recently in-form offerings with War Eagle (Ire) (Australia {GB}) (lot 353) and recent Lingfield scorer St Peters Basilica (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) (lot 352), a half-brother to the far speedier pair Caspian Prince (Ire) (Dylan Thomas {Ire}) and Spirit Quartz (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), having some reasonable form on the board. Harvey Dent (GB) (Mayson {GB}), (lot 180) did himself no harm in winning in impressive fashion on only his third start at Lingfield a few days ago and is being offered on behalf of trainer Archie Watson by The Castlebridge Consignment. John Murphy’s Confrontational (Ire) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}) (lot 333) has also been in terrific heart of late, scoring at successive meetings at Dundalk, as has the William Haggas-trained Deputise (GB) (Kodiak {GB}) (lot 369). Green Room (Theatrical {Ire}), who ended up being the dam of last year’s G1 Oaks scorer Forever Together (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), changed hands at this sale a few years ago and there are certainly options for those with breeding or another season of racing in mind. Several likely types are being offered through Baroda and Colbinstown Studs on Thursday. Among their six are Kalandara (Ire) (Rainbow Quest), whose dual Group 3-winning daughter Luminate (Ire) (Lawman {Fr} sold for 900,000gns at the 2018 Tattersalls December Sale. Although the mare is now 16, she is believed to be carrying a filly foal by Lope De Vega (Ire) and is one of the best of the earlier lots as lot 69. One lot before her (lot 68) is Art Of Dance (GB) (Medicean {GB}), a Bloomsbury Stud-bred mare who is in foal to the much in-demand young buck No Nay Never. This could be a busy few minutes as another in-foal to No Nay Never is the useful race-mare Hestia (Fr) (High Chaparral {Ire}), an eye-catching entry by the National Stud as lot 66, whilst lot 67, the unraced All I Need (Ire) (Peintre Celebre) has an attractive Wildenstein pedigree. Ellery Lane (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}) (lot 163) has not yet become a broodmare after leaving Brian Lynch in Canada but was stakes-placed in both Ireland and America. Highclere Stud’s Snazzy (Ire) (Kodiak {GB}) (lot 159) ought to have similar credentials as she was listed-placed for Charlie Fellowes and hails from the illustrious extended family of the likes of Cassandra Go (Ire), Magical (Ire) and Rhododendron (Ire). Tattersalls chairman Edmond Mahony said, “The Tattersalls February Sale has firmly established itself as Europe’s premier midwinter sale and there is no shortage of high-class breeding stock in this year’s catalogue, as well as horses in training, 2-year-olds and yearlings to appeal to the usual diverse mix of domestic and international buyers who descend on Park Paddocks each year.” At 11am, prior to the sale commencing half an hour later, will be the Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association Flat stallion parade. Ten stallions who are about to embark upon their first and second seasons at stud in Great Britain will feature. They include Whitsbury Manor Stud’s acquisition Havana Grey (GB) (Havana Gold {Ire}), the G1 Flying Five S. hero, and G1 St Leger scorer Harbour Law (GB) (Lawman {Fr}, who is to stand at Batsford Stud. A pair of ex-Aidan O’Brien performers are also on show in top sprinter Washington DC (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}), now moving to Bearstone Stud, and the National Stud’s Lancaster Bomber (War Front), who signed off winning the G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup S. Sophomore stallions Ardad (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) and Time Test (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) are also on parade with a handful of other more established stallions on hand for viewing afterwards in the Left and Right Yards. In this period of calm before the storm during which breeders and buyers will be in town, some of the leading local studs are also holding an ‘open house’ over the next couple of days and there is the opportunity to visit both Juddmonte’s Banstead Manor and Darley’s Dalham Hall headquarters, among others. View the full article

DREAM CASTLE was one everybody in the yard was looking forward to seeing last week and he put in a brilliant performance to win the Al Rashidiya. He’s a horse who has really turned the corner since coming out to Dubai. He’s had his setbacks along the way but he’s one we’ve always thought a […] The post Kieren Fallon Dubai World Cup Carnival Blog appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

Keeneland has expanded the 2019 April Sale, which traditionally features 2-year-olds in training, to include horses of racing age, the sales company announced Wednesday. The April Sale is scheduled for Tuesday, Apr. 9, immediately following the Spring Meet opening weekend, which begins Thursday, Apr. 4. “Keeneland’s Spring Meet is a convergence of horsemen heading home from their winter bases,” Keeneland Vice President of Racing and Sales Bob Elliston said. “The addition of a horses of racing age component to the April Sale complements our racing program and offers variety to buyers in town for opening weekend.” The entry deadline for the online horses of racing age catalog is Friday, Mar. 15. Supplemental entries will be accepted after that deadline. Entries for the 2-year-olds in training catalog close Saturday, Feb. 1. Keeneland conducted the April 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale from 1993-2014. The sale has been on hiatus since 2015. At the 2014 April Sale, future champions Lady Eli (Divine Park) and Roy H (More Than Ready) were sold. View the full article